“We believe that rapid advancements in artificial intelligence enable our teams to reduce repetitive work, increase velocity, and better support our community, partners, and advertisers.”
On Wednesday, April 15, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel included that statement in a letter to employees announcing the company would lay off about 1,000 people, including 16% of its full-time employees. Yet, that message could have been pulled from a number of tech CEO’s recent bold statements that AI will replace employees.
Spiegel joins the ranks of CEOs like Block’s Jack Dorsey who are unabashed in their decision to lay off their staff in favor of AI.
In his February letter to shareholders, Dorsey stated: “Intelligence tools have changed what it means to build and run a company. We’re already seeing it internally. A significantly smaller team, using the tools we’re building, can do more and do it better. And intelligence tool capabilities are compounding faster every week.” He then went on to boast how most companies are “late” to this realization and will soon follow suit. Block laid off about 4,000 employees.
Similarly, Spiegel wrote, “We have already witnessed small squads leveraging AI tools to drive meaningful progress across several important initiatives, including Snapchat+, enhanced ad platform performance, and efficiency improvements in our Snap Lite infrastructure.”
He claims the changes Snap is implementing will reduce the company’s annualized cost base by over $500 through the end of 2026.
Separately, Spiegel posted on Instagram about attending Coachella over the past weekend with his wife, Miranda Kerr.
What’s happening to workers at Snap?
Snap has told employees in the United States to work from home today. All impacted U.S.-based employees should have received an email within an hour of the letter. They will receive four months of severance, health coverage, and equity vesting.
Individuals outside the U.S. will get more information from HR and leadership — likely with better protections, as Snap has to “follow local processes and seek to provide comparable support aligned with local norms.”
Snap is also closing 300 open roles.
In response to the news, Snaps shares rose over 6% on Wednesday.
